There’s surprises, and then there’s surprises.
David Ellison fell into the latter category Thursday as made a unexpected appearance at CinemaCon, the annual gathering of theater owners. He took the stage to reassure exhibitors they have nothing to fear, whether it be the new regime at Paramount, or his pending acquisition of Warner Bros.
“I want to look every single one of you in the eye and promise once we combine with Warner Bros., we are going to make a minimum 30 movies a year. Every film will be released in theaters with minimum 45 day window and SVOD in 90 days,” he said.
It seemed obvious that Ellison might come to Sin City and lend his support to Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation, considering it marked the debut appearance of Hollywood veterans Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg, who are co-heads of his new movie studio. But chatter subsided when word broke just a day earlier that a death in the family kept Ellison from attending a Democratic-led U.S. Senate hearing on the merger earlier this week.
“Regretfully, Mr. Ellison is unable to be in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, as he is attending a funeral due to a death in the family,” Paramount policy exec Ted Lehman told Sen. Cory Booker, who led the April 15 hearing of the Senate’s antitrust subcommitee. A studio rep declined to elaborate on the circumstances of that funeral.
Ellison took to the stage after the new regime played a video directed by Jon M. Chu was meant to herald the bright future that lies ahead for Paramount, which was almost driven into the ground in recent years by financial neglect. The video featured a slew of top talent that Ellison and his execs are in business with, including by Tom Cruise, Timothée Chalamet, Sherry Lansing, Gina Prince-Bythewood, James Cameron, Chris Pratt and Will Smith.
The video, first reported by The Hollywood Reporter weeks ago, ends with Cruise sitting on the very top of the studio water tower and looking out onto the horizon.
“Long live the movies. That’s something I know all of us deeply believe in,” said Ellison, who gave a special call-out to Chu, his friend since USC film school.
He also heaped praise on the audience before him, calling theaters a “smart business,” adding, “Nowhere else can you launch a multi-platform franchise or IP that can grow and thrive for generations to come. It’s good for the heart, it’s good for our business, and most importantly, it’s good for our people.”
He also touted his team’s progress since taking over Paramount in August 2025.
“At Paramount, we’ve already demonstrated since launching the new company just eight months ago, our ability to increase output with 15 films currently dated for 2026 up from eight in 2025,” Ellison said. “People can speculate all they long, but I’m standing here telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment and we’ll show you again. Thank you for your partnership. We’re thrilled to have you on this journey with us, and we are incredibly excited for what’s ahead.”
Greenstein and Goldberg made plenty of news, led with the announcement that director Pete Berg’s Call of Duty, penned by Taylor Sheridan, will hit theaters in 2028. When running Skydance — a co-financing and producing partner on Paramount’s prime marquee franchises— Ellison spent more than a decade sewing up the film rights to the Activision video game. Insiders tell THR that Ellison and his team think the franchise has Star Wars-like potential.
Goldberg and Goldstein said they will deliver a diverse slate that ranges from the biggest tentpoles — yes, Top Gun 3 is happening — to genre pics, family fare, R-rated comedies and original films.
Ellison treasures loyalty above all else. Goldberg was his No. 2 at Skydance, while he got to know Greenstein when the latter headed up marketing at Paramount before decamping to Sony. (Ellison convinced him to join him in revitalizing Paramount.) “David mentioned some of our prior collaborations and, in fact, what was the first glimmer of what was yet to come was our initial meeting on True Grit, which forged the working relationship tha has bought us together here today,” said Greenstein.
